Pesticides News

Also see our Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2013. The discovery of a new tapir species is number seven in our first ever Top 10 List of Happy Environmental Stories.…

Rachel Carson and, more recently, Sandra Steingraber have successfully drawn popular attention to the risks of pesticides on wildlife. Many of the environmental consequences of pesticides have now been well…

As the world’s population increases and agricultural frontiers expand into native tropical habitats, researchers are working furiously to understand the impacts on tropical forests and global biodiversity. But one obvious…

In a large room that used to house aquatic mammals at the Minnesota Zoo, Erik Runquist holds up a vial and says, "Here are its eggs." I peer inside and…

Europe's grassland butterfly population has plummeted in the past two decades, new research published on Tuesday shows, with a near halving in the numbers of key species since 1990. The…

A shocking new study finds that losing just one pollinator species could lead to major declines in plant productivity, a finding that has broad implications for biodiversity conservation. Looking at…

While recent research (and media attention) has focused on the alleged negative impacts of pesticides on bees, the problem may be far broader according to a new study in the…

A widely used insect nerve agent has been labelled a "high acute risk" to honeybees by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A similar assessment by the EFSA on three…

On 15 April more than 100 fishermen demonstrated in the streets of Fort de France, the main town on Martinique, in the French West Indies. In January they barricaded the…

Nearly a third of managed honeybee colonies in America died out or disappeared over the winter, an annual survey found on Wednesday. The decline—which was far worse than the winter…

The EU has banned three neonicotinoid pesticides (imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam) linked to the decline of bees for two years. The ban will apply to all flowering crops, such as…

New Zealand's Department of Conservation (DOC) is facing a backlash over plans to aerially drop a controversial poison, known as 1080, over the habitat of two endangered, prehistoric, and truly…

England's dropping hog population begins to look dire. European hedgehog. Photo by: Gaudete. As hedgehogs all over the United Kingdom wake up from their winter hibernation, activists will be carefully…

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) collecting pollen. Photo by: Jon Sullivan. Exposure to commonly used pesticides directly disrupts brain functioning in bees, according to new research in Nature. While the study…

Organic vegetables for sale in Argentina. Photo by: René Piamonte. The global farmland area certified organic has expanded more than threefold to 37 million hectares since 1999, according to new…

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) collecting pollen. Photo by: Jon Sullivan. Following a flood of damning research on the longterm impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on bee colonies, the EU is proposing…

European common frog (Rana temporaria). Photo by: Richard Bartz. Commonly used agrochemicals (insecticides, fungicides and herbicides) kill frogs outright when sprayed on fields even when used at recommended dosages, according…

Honeybees in an apiary in Germany. Photo by: Björn Appel. The evidence that common pesticides may be partly to blame for a decline in bees keeps piling up. Several recent…

After suffering from bladder cancer at 20, Sandra Steingraber began to study the links between toxic chemicals and deadly diseases. Her research led her to write the the much-acclaimed book…

Following research linking neonicotinoid pesticides to the decline in bee populations, France has announced it plans to ban Cruiser OSR, an insecticide produced by Sygenta. Recent studies, including one in…

Over 25 years after people stopped growing cardamom in Sri Lanka's Knuckles Forest Reserve (KFR), the spice crop is still having an impact on the forest, according to a recent…

Corn growing in Colombia. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. In general, industrial agriculture beats organic farming in yields, according to a comprehensive new study in Nature. The study adds new…

Right of left: Evgenia Chirikova, Edwin Gariguez, Ma Jun, Ikal Angelei, Caroline Cannon, and Sofia Gatica. Photo courtesy of Goldman Environmental Prize. A controversial dam, a massive mine, poisonous pesticides,…

Honeybees in an apiary in Germany. Photo by: Björn Appel. Scientists with the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) have re-created the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder in several honeybee hives…

A honeybee tagged with an RFID microchip for tracking its movements. Photo © Science/AAAS. Commonly used pesticides may be a primary driver of the collapsing bee populations, finds two new…